Mooring masthead



March 22 1927.

R. M.` GVETCHELL uooRING MASTHEAD File April 18, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 lMarch 22 1927.

1,622,140 R. M. GETCHELL MOORI NG MASTHEAD Filed Apm 18. 1922 4 sheets-suena March 22 1927.

vR. M. GETCHELL MOOFIINGv MASTHEAD Filed April 18, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 22, 1.927- R M GETCHELL MOORING MASTHEAD Filed April 18. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 III Patented Mar. 22, 1927,

nonnen M; GnrcnELI-i, or; Darmon, @nro- MQORINGI MASTHEAD;

Application filed', April, 1.8, 19,22.

This invention, relates toy mooring maSts for airships, and more particularly to a mooring head for at mooring mast;

in cases where a,y rigid', a. semi-rigid. or other lighter-than-air craft is to be moored outside off a, hangar or'bfa-lloon, shed, it has been found necessary and expedient to, pro- \'ide a mast of considerable height asA an au,-

choring means inI order that the,y may be free for immediate use, etc. 'llhe nose of the arfsliin usually' the Portion te which the mooring means is attached it is necessary that the Shirt@ permitted te Swine' freely around the mast in a breeze or gale andi yet. bel securely and resiliently secured to avoid: possible injury. Further, due to Weather conditions sueh. as high orales, it is often impracticable te pllt the ship. in its hangar orV shed-- so it must be meer-ed to a mast outside.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide suitable ,means ivherebyy the ship may beI` secured toy such a mooring mast andv pnefenably'by itsnosam It is another object to provide means whereby the ship; may be securely fastened to such mooring means and vwhereby the ship will be securely and resiliently fastened thereto so that it may sway up or dowmparallel or at an. angle to, the ground lQngitudinally.

It is aI further object to provid-e means whereby the ship may movie either slightly away from: the mooring mast or slightly toward it, depending on different conditions, without injury.

It is alsdan.y object toy provide means whereby the: ship may be moved around the mast inl any radiall direotion, either by the wind or hand while so secured.

It is also an object to so combine the above noted means that they may function simultaneously or independently.

It is a further object to provide a ship nose-engaging portion of the mooring mast head which will be non-injurious to the ship nose or fabric thereof.

It is another object of the invention to so arrange the mooring` mast head that it may function in cooperation with a mooring means partly described and illustrated in my co-pending application, Serial No. 551,309, filed April l0, 1922.

Other objects will present themselves as the description of the drawing proceeds in which:

seriai ne. sessie,

Figure ll is aside elevation of the mooring n,astheahpartly in section; i

Figline 2 an' @ad elevation thereof' look.n ing from the left in Figure l;

Fig' ire Bis a sectional'l elevation ouille line -3 of Figure 1 looking. in the direction @t the arrows;v i l Figure 4 is a sectionaly elevation on the line 4 4 in Eigure l. leoknefn the direetfon. 0f the arrows i Figure 5J 's anz endelevation, of the arrangement shown in Figure IL looking from the right; andy Figure 6 is a top plan View ofi Figure l, partsfbeing omitted.A

Referring more particularly toy diey drawing,l2I designates the mooring-mast proper on which ismounted the masthead, generally designated 4l` in suitable anti-friction. bear.- ings 6,8; to permit rotation ofthe head 4, and the head and mast aref suitably securedtm gether by ngieans-4 such ascollai: 10.

rilheheadv 4 is` preferably of cast steel tapered in asat l2 (Figure 1)] and flanged out dat as shown 14, i4 .in order to, provide bearing rests. for the'. shaft 16 which is ,mounted therein and upon which shaft isJ pivotally mounted a yokelhaning armsv20,k20 engag ing opposite ends, thereof- .'lfhehollow stein 22 of theyolge 18 isinternally threaded to ifo-- ceive a; similarly threadedl rigid tube 24 which may be. of proportionate length and carries: at its outer end a'circular flange 2 6 adapted to retain the` bearing 36 of the air- Shin nose @lisas-ins Person designated: eenr orally 2 8.; v Thisnose engaging portion 28 cone.r shapedland; maybe composed of tubular rods, 3Q connected outer ends to ring 32 and their inner enfle @Olmert-ed to a 34 which is mounted on a suitable bearing 3C sliding on tube 24. A spring 38 is positioned between suitable abutment members 40, 42 the latter of which must be freely slidable on tube 24 and which may be rigidly attached `to the ring 34 and bearing 36.

On the stem of the yoke 18 is casta pair of spaced lugs 44 which are adapted to carry a, pivot pin 46 upon which is mounted a pivot arm 48 and pivotally connected at 50 with bell crank levers 52, 52 pivoted at 54, 54 on a part 56 of the mast head 4. The crank arms are arranged to move simultaneously and in conjunction with one another. The lower Aends of the crank arms 52, 52 are forked as shown in Figures l, 3 and 4 to engage the ends of a rod `58 connecting piston rods 60, (only one of which is shown) oonnected in turn to piston heads G2, positioned between opposing springs 64, 66 and confined within cylinders 68, 68', which are positioned on opposite sides of 'the mast head 4 and which may be cast in or otherwise secured thereto.

Mounted between flanges 14, 14 is a sheave 70 overwhich passes the cable 72 passing through the hollow yoke stem and at one end connected to the airship 76 by a bridle shown generally at 7 4, while at 'the other end it may be connected to a shock-absorbing` winding drum (not shown) such as that shown in my co-pending application referred to above.

The nose-engaging portion 28 is lined with a loose fabric F as shown, having a positioning ring 78. The fabric F may be secured at seams S and should be of flexible yet strong material, but as 'the kind or qual` ity of the material does not fall within the scope of this invention, itis not deemed necessary to further describe it. The ring 78 may be loose, as shown, or may be resiliently secured by rubber cords (not shown) to the nose-engaging portion 28. Further, in order to provide adequate protection to the fabric of the nose of the ship, annular pads 80, 80 may be attached to the fabric lining where their utility will be obvious.

It will be seen 'that the fabric lining F has utility as a wind direction positioning means for the mast head in addition to its function as a protecting means, for it will ever tend to turn down wind and as the ship is usually brought into its moorings up wind it follows that the nose-engaging portion 28 will be in a position to receive the ship.

In operation, the bridle of the airship may be attached to the cable 72 in any suitable manner and the nose will be brought into the position 28 by the winding mechanism to which the opposite end of the cable is attached. The nose will be protected by the fabric and cushion. Should the cable winding or reeling mechanism tend to pull the ship 'too tightly into the nose-engaging portion 28, the fabric and buffers will give slightly in compensation, but if the pull be stronger the spring 38 will compress, thereby resiliently taking up the pressure and practically eliminating all strain on the airship nose. Should there be a downward pressure on the airship the levers 48 and 52, in conjunction Withthe springs 64, 66 operate to resiliently relieve the shock. Further, the bearings 6, 8, permit thehead to rotate to any radial position.

The springs 64, 6G may be replaced by suitable hydraulic, oil, or `air operating means.

I/Vhile I have shown and described my invention as applied in a particular manner, it is to be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit Y of my invention.

`What I claim and `desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. In a device ofthe character described, a stationary means, means rotatable thereiin a yoke pivotally mounted on and embracing said rotatable means, resilientv means mounted on the stem of said yoke and means between said yoke and rotatable means resistinICD movement of said yoke froma predetermined position. i

2. In a mooring means of the character described, a hollow stationary means, a head rotatable in conjunction therewith adapted to have a cable pass therethrough and provided with spaced arms, a sheave mounted between said spaced arms, a yoke mounted on saidhead and having a hollow stem adapted to have the cable pass therethrough1 means mounted upon said last mentioned meansfor containing the portion of an airship to be moored thereto and means operable therewith forlimiting inward movement of said airship engaging portion and means between said airship engaging portion and said stationary means whereby upward forces beyond the normal on said yoke means will be resiliently limited.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ROBERT GETCHELL.. 

